A yoga mat must be comfy and supportive, present adequate grip to maintain you from slipping, and be simple to scrub and carry.
Since 2014, we’ve downward-dogged and Savasanaed on 49 yoga mats (plus one mat different). We’ve additionally used them for calisthenic exercises, lugged them round New York Metropolis, and drenched them in sweat.
We’ve lengthy really helpful the pure rubber JadeYoga Concord Mat for its sturdiness, consolation, octopus-like grip, and transportability, and after a brand new spherical of testing in 2024, it’s now our prime choose. Like most all-rubber mats, it’s dearer than the mats you may encounter in most big-box and low cost shops. Years of long-term testing have proven it’s definitely worth the extra spend.
Our choose
This pure rubber mat creates premium suction in your fingers and toes to stop slippage and is particularly good for warm yoga. Nevertheless it has a powerful odor that takes some time to dissipate.
The JadeYoga Concord Mat is made totally of pure rubber, and it does an outstanding job at absorbing sweat and sustaining traction in sweaty conditions. It’s comparatively thick at 4.75 millimeters (0.187 inch)—3 to 3.25 millimeters is normally thought of adequate thickness for a primary yoga mat—and creates a spongy really feel beneath hand and foot that our testers liked, although not each yogi will want. We’ve discovered this mat’s grip helpful when doing non-yoga workouts, too. The Concord mat rolls tighter and faster than most mats, however it has a powerful rubber odor and comprises latex. If in case you have a latex allergy, contemplate our funds choose, the Yoga Equipment 1/4″ Additional Thick Deluxe Yoga Mat, or one other rubber-free mat we like—the Gaiam Efficiency Dry-Grip Yoga Mat, which we assessment under.
Additionally nice
This thicker mat offers ample padding and has a grippy aspect and a smoother one. It’s heavier than our prime choose and might be tough to hold.
An ever-so-slightly thicker—and considerably heavier—dual-sided mat, Lululemon’s The Mat 5mm is made from pure and artificial rubbers—plus polyurethane, polyester, and nylon—and offers loads of assist for arms, knees, and ft. One aspect is clean, however not slick, and is supposed to reinforce grip. A downside of this floor is that naked pores and skin might be laborious to peel off when sweaty, which isn’t not like pulling off a bandage. The extra spongy aspect is just like the composition of our choose; it offers stable traction however doesn’t really feel as sticky.
Price range choose
This squishy, all-PVC mat is a cut price—as a result of it lasts. It’s 4 inches longer than the typical cheap mat, too.
In a world the place polyvinyl chloride (PVC) foam mats are a dime a dozen, Yoga Equipment has produced a low-cost choice of worth. Not solely is the Yoga Equipment 1/4″ Additional Thick Deluxe Yoga Mat lower than a 3rd of the price of our different picks, however it’s a beneficiant 6.2 millimeters (0.25 inch) thick. Most significantly, a number of of our testers have used this mat day by day for a few years, and it offers good assist for many workouts.
